Ottavio Quattrocchi

ARTICLES ABOUT OTTAVIO QUATTROCCHI BY DATE - PAGE 4

The Bofors scam of the late 1980s, which seemed dead and buried for all practical purposes, stands revived, thanks to the indecent haste shown by the UPA government in withdrawing the Interpol's wanted notice against the accused, Ottavio Quattrocchi. Its timing has justifiably caused an uproar. By doing so at this stage of electioneering, the Congress has indeed shot itself in the foot and given the BJP a handle with which to attack Sonia Gandhi. Union law minister H R Bhardwaj has compounded his folly by suggesting the notice was withdrawn at the advice of Attorney General Milon Bannerjee.

NEW DELHI: The CBI's image as an independent and autonomous investigative agency, which was impervious to external influences, has once again come under a cloud following revelations that it had sought the withdrawal of the Red Corner Notice against Ottavio Quattrocchi, the Italian middleman who's an accused in the Bofors bribery case. The agency's standing has taken a severe beating of late, with even friendly parties of the ruling alliance making common cause with the Opposition in charging it with calibrating its probe in sensitive cases to suit the whims of the forces in power.

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which defreezed Rs 21 crore stashed in a London bank in two accounts held by Bofors scam accused Ottavio Quattrocchi and his wife Maria in 2006, has now facilitated his travel across the globe by asking Interpol to take him off the "wanted" list. Following a communication from the CBI, the Interpol has withdrawn the Red Corner Notice against the Italian middleman. The development that comes barely three weeks before the end of the Manmohan Singh government's tenure has brought back the issue of the Bofors scandal to the centrestage.

NEW DELHI: The CBI's decision to erase the name of Bofors accused Ottavio Quattrocchi from its list of most wanted persons was challenged in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. It is likely to be mentioned before the court on Wednesday. In an application, advocate Ajay K Agrawal has sought direction of the court to "stay the operation of any withdrawal of Red Corner Notice against accused Quattrocchi". Mr Agrawal has further sought direction of the court to restore the Red Corner Notice of Interpol against the Italian businessman.

NEW DELHI: The Interpol has removed the red-corner notice issued against Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman who is being sought in India for criminal charges for acting as a conduit for bribes in the Bofors scandal, Times Now reported. The 12-year-long Interpol red corner notice against Quattrocchi has been withdrawn by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This comes just three weeks before the Congress-led UPA government's term ends. The decision is apparently based on an opinion sent by Attorney General Milon Banerjee to the government in which he describes the notice as "a continuing embarrassment.

NEW DELHI: The BJP pounced on the revelation that the CBI may have botched up its case seeking the extradition of Ottavio Quattrocchi ? by failing to furnish before an Argentine court relevant trial court order in the Bofors payoffs scandal ? terming it as part of a series of steps taken by the Manmohan Singh government to help the Italian fugitive, known for his proximity to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's family. The country's premier investigative agency, the principal opposition party alleged, was engaged in 'Operation Save Quattrocchi,' and asked it to come clean on the issue.

NEW DELHI: The Indian government failed to provide requisite documents for extradition of Ottavio Quattrocchi, accused in the Rs 64-crore Bofors pay-off case, leading to the rejection of its request by the court of Argentina, Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday. "The documentation furnished on February 24, 2007, does not provide the pertinent legal grounds which are an essential requirement to proceed with the extradition order," said an English translation of the original Spanish order of the El Dorado court submitted by the CBI to the apex court.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Government failed to submit requisite documents to an Argentine court to secure the extradition of Ottavio Quattrocchi, an accused in the Bofors case, according to the overseas court's order placed before the Supreme Court by the CBI on Tuesday. Sixtynine year old Quattrocchi walked to freedom after the El Dorado court rejected India's plea for his extradition on June 8, 2007. "Government of Republic of India has failed to submit a court resolution ordering the issuance of the arrest order, dated May 25, 1997, which is the origin and reason of the commencement of these proceeding," the Argentine court order translated from Spanish to English by the agency said.

NEW DELHI: The change in the chemistry of Congress-UPA relations was evident in Parliament on Monday when the CPM attempted to don the role of the Opposition and targeted the government for bailing out Italian middleman Ottavio Quattrocchi. The CPM, which joined the BJP's attack on the government over the issue, charged the government with arranging a "safe passage" for India's wanted man to leave Argentina. "The government has brought shame on the country. The middleman, who negotiated the political pay-off, was let off by the government.

Though the Left and the Congress have agreed to remain partners at least for now, tension still prevails within the ruling coalition. The Left appeared to be determined to use its numerical strength in Lok Sabha to decisively dictate the policy direction of the Union government. The Left has indicated that the terms of engagement with the UPA will now be dictated by the willingness of the government to accept the Left parties' views on policy matters. The Left has also decided to tell the government in clear terms that there was no room for 'unilateralism'.